Finland Looks to Cut Income Support for Young Refugees
Image: YLE / Antti Heikinmatti
The government wants to slash income support given to underage asylum seekers, reports the Seinäjoki-based newspaper Ilkka. Officials suspect that children have been sending their parents money that is intended to cover their own basic needs.
Currently, unaccompanied children receive up to 290 euros per month while their applications are processed.
The Interior Ministry proposes that unaccompanied children applying for international protection in Finland would instead receive pocket money ranging between 25 and 45 euros per month.
By the end of August, 2,700 people had applied for asylum in Finland this year, 200 of them children. Most young asylum seekers come from Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Finland provides refugees arriving in the country with more direct income support than any other European Union country.
YLE